FTC commissioners ousted by Trump speak out after filing lawsuit to reverse firings
Two former Federal Trade Commissioners are suing the Trump administration for moving to fire them last week, arguing it violates federal law.
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro M. Bedoya have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia aiming to reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to fire them without cause, they said.
“We are trying to vindicate the law that Congress passed, that has been in place for over a century to protect accountability and transparency at the FTC,” Slaughter told ABC News. “To make sure that commissioners and the work of the commission is done without fear or favor, and more specifically, that we can take on the biggest companies in America without fear of getting fired for failure to do a favor to the President’s friends or donors or corporate allies.”
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter sits before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade hearing entitled “The World Wild Web: Examining Harms Online” in the Rayburn House office building in Washington, D.C., March 26, 2025.
Mattie Neretin/Sipa via AP
The FTC, which regulates major tech companies, such as Facebook and Amazon, has also recently cracked down on junk fees, including those for concert tickets and hotel resort fees and simplified the process for unsubscribing from hard-to-cancel services like gym memberships. The board usually consists of five members: three from the president’s party and two from the opposition.
In the termination letters last week, an official from the Trump administration informed Slaughter and Bedoya, the Democratic members, that their service at the FTC was “inconsistent” with the administration’s policies but did not provide any further details.
Slaughter and Bedoya point to a 1935 Supreme Court precedent that prohibits the president from removing FTC commissioners except for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
“This is a very obvious violation of the law, and we hope will be reinstated in short order,” Bedoya said.
The lawsuit demands back pay and reinstatement to their positions.
A view of signage at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) headquarters in Washington, D.C., Nov. 24, 2024.
Benoit Tessier/Reuters, FILE
In addition to Elon Musk, Trump has sought close ties with other tech CEOs, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who were invited to Trump’s inauguration.
The former FTC commissioners said they don’t know if Trump’s relationships with the heads of tech companies had anything to do with their dismissal.
“It certainly raises the specter of that kind of interference and corruption,” Slaughter said. “We won’t know without the presence of minority commissioners at the FTC why it’s taking the actions it’s taking and whether they’re in line with the law.”
Bedoya added, “Some of the recent, I would say, chaotic moves from the White House are a real concern, not just for consumers, but also for the market. If you want small businesses and startups to succeed, you want a stable, predictable market where big companies can’t just snuff you out, not by issuing a better product, but just throwing their weight around to stop you. That is the kind of work FTC does, and that’s what I fear will go away.”
